Unity Church Sermon Podcasts

What does it mean to have a conversation or an encounter with another human that invites the divine into relationship? When we talk about "going deep quickly" and knowing each other "in all our fullness," what do we mean? Why are these things important? And what do Herr Buber and Mr. Douglass have to teach us about all this?

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection by worship associate Caswell Burr. There is a great, interconnected web of existence, a great and entrancing mystery, and we are starting to see more of the effects of our neglect for that interdependence. How can our UU faith and principles help guide us through the growing imperative to change our relationship with the natural world?

This Sunday reflects on the milestone events since Rev. Kathleen's arrival at Unity Church in September 2022: successes, missed opportunities and work that is still in the making. 

Fatherhood has changed a lot since the first celebration of Father's Day in 1910, as have ideas about masculinity. Worship associates Charlie Caswell, Chris Russert, and Isaac Fried will reflect on their own experiences of fathers, and the joys and the challenges of navigating maleness amidst a culture that insists on binary thinking. ​

We are well aware of the realties of climate change; we see evidence of the changing earth on an almost daily basis. Yet climate fatigue — the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness is also evident. How do we cultivate a sustainable level of energy and care for the environment when our own resources are often thin? How is that climate of care practiced within, among and beyond us? ​

Beethoven was completely deaf when he embarked on his masterpiece, Ode to Joy , and it's a tragedy that he never heard a single note of it except inside his head. At many times in our lives, finding joy may seem impossible. Life can seem painful or tragic, and joy completely out of reach. Not ignoring the truths of the tragedies and challenges of our world, how can we cultivate more joy in our liv...

Ukraine. Israel and Palestine. Haiti. Eritrea. Ethiopia. There are so many places around the globe where violence and the war that follows results in an endless cycle of retaliation and devastation. On this Memorial Day Sunday, we honor those who have died in past wars, while maintaining the hope that we can learn the things that make for peace. 

A flower celebration Sunday homily.

This sermon podcast begins with a reflection from worship associate Sara Ford. On this Mother's Day, amidst rising conflicts near and far, let us lean into inspiring stories from our global Unitarian community and ancestors, including Dr. Lotta Hitchmanova, a Jewish journalist from Prague who spoke out against the Nazis and then dedicated her life to humanitarian efforts. Dr. Lotta helped literall...

Coming of Age Sunday celebrates the signature year-long journey of our ninth grade youth, transitioning from the inherited faith of childhood to the adult journey of faith, and marked by youth sharing their statement of faith or credo. 

This sermon begins with worship associate Ari Giles reading "Good Bones" by Maggie Smith.

There is a voice within you which no-one, not even you, has ever heard. Give yourself the opportunity of silence and begin to develop your listening in order to hear, deep within yourself, the music of your own spirit.  — John O'Donohue, Anam Cara In a world full of distractions, screens, video bingeing, and climate unraveling, paying deep attention to our inner lives — and the wisdom and music th...

This podcast begins with Merrill Aldrich reading Luke 24:13-32. What really happened on that Easter morning? A resurrection? An awakening? No one can say for certain, but we can say this — Jesus of Nazareth's life after his death changed the world. On this Easter Sunday, it also has the power to change us. Come find out how.

In his essay of the same title, the Hungarian cultural critic László Földényi stages an encounter between Dostoyevsky and Hegel, between our creaturely sense of transcendence as finite-limited-mortal beings and radical Enligthenment's belief in unbounded progress and mastery. In a world mediated through switches, buttons, credit cards, screens, redlined neighborhoods and land as commodity for owne...

Who among us really expected life to be a bed of roses? Barbara Hubbard will speak about how the Unity Church community has inspired, shaped and transformed her life's journey.

Many Unitarian Universalists find a spiritual connection with Nature (yes, the N is writ large intentionally!). Having just experienced the warmest winter on record and rising concerns about our planet's climate, what is our spiritual and theological response? Where can we find the individual and collective strength to clearly face the truth of the climate emergency, mourn the damage being done to...

Join Rev Jessica Clay as she returns to Unity and reflects on her years of parish ministry since she was the Hallman Ministerial Intern in 2016-2017. She will explore the place creativity has in faith, community, and life. 

Sometimes in life we are faced with seemingly impossible choices. This sermon will pick up on the themes introduced on February 11 and take them even further into the spiritual, theological, ethical and moral realms of our daily living.

"We respond to the call of love because it is our common theological core. It is what can and does motivate us and illuminates our deepest commitments to each other." These words are from the UUA Board in their Charge to the Article II Study Commission. This Sunday we will consider how our Unitarian Universalist faith and values are expressed in our lives and in our religious communities as we con...

Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner made famous the phrase "If it's not one thing, it's another...it's always something!" And isn't that true? We are constantly called to choose one person or one thing over another; often accompanied by conflicting feelings about those choices. This Sunday we'll dive deeper into the February theme of choosing, and the role chance, choice, free will and deter...

Anyone who has endured messy and bitter conflicts in a congregation may not be able to see how there could be an opportunity of a blessing in the midst of the pain. But conflicts will inevitably occur and it is possible to learn new ways of approaching them that can allow for growth and learning, and even transformation.  Rev. Cooley is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist and has served as a ministe...

We can do hard things. Facing our fears and charting a pathway forward. 

What calls you to work for justice in the world? This sermon will explore both the historical and contemporary call to justice that arises from our Unitarian Universalist theological heritage. 

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, and Bayard Rustin's commitment to non-violence was a powerful and effective strategy because all those involved in the Civil Rights Movement were committed to practicing the disciplines of non-violence as expressed in Beloved Community in action. What wisdom can we learn from King and Rustin as we move towards ever increasing levels of accountability which requi...